French firm charged over 2002 sale of submarines to Malaysia

PARIS • A French judge has charged defence group Thales with complicity in bribery over a 2002 sale of submarines to Malaysia, sources close to the inquiry told Agence France-Presse on Tuesday.

The long-running case into alleged kickbacks was opened in 2010 and eventually caught up with former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak.

Najib was defence minister when the US$1.2 billion deal was signed for the purchase of two Scorpene-class submarines and one Agosta submarine from French naval dockyard unit DCN, now part of Thales.

Najib's associate Abdul Razak Baginda, who acted as an adviser on the deal, is accused of disguising the kickback of more than €114 million as "consulting work" by a firm in which he was the largest shareholder.

The money was then allegedly given to Najib, who has faced a series of graft cases since he was voted out as Malaysia's prime minister in 2018.

Razak Baginda was charged in France in 2017, while Najib has been questioned by Malaysian anti-graft investigators.

In total, nine defendants, including Thales, have been charged in France and the investigations were closed in January this year, the sources said.

The defendants include Philippe Japiot, former chairman of DCN International, and Jean-Paul Perrier, a former Thales chief executive, along with two other former executives.

All four deny any wrongdoing and the Malaysian government has said the contract was free of corruption.

Contacted by AFP, Thales said "it strongly contests these allegations".

Prosecutors from France's financial crimes office PNF will now consider any further requests to the judge, who will have a final say on whether the case goes to trial, though an appeal was already filed in May last year.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE